Last Ruler Of The Empty Throne

Looking at it again, this was strange. The fire he knew wasn't silver, it was red, so why was it that color. Then suddenly,

SHAA

The fire that was calmly flowing suddenly burst out, increasing its intensity.

'Should I be worried?' She wasn't screaming in pain, so she was alright, right?

Then the flames gradually receded, until it revealed Jenny standing tall, unharmed, unchanged but something about her had definitely changed.

With a confident smile, she stretched out her hand.

A small, five-centimeter sphere of silver fire hovered above her palm, flickering like a candle's flame.

It then slowly expanded, growing to fifteen centimeters before it stopped

"Wow," Jenny breathed, her eyes wide in amazement. "So, this is my main skill?"

Jon first watched, both awed and apprehensive then nodded in response, "Yeah, And I think killing these…zombies...is how we unlock these skills."

"Ah..." Now remembering how the zombies were formed, she wasn't really eager to get more.

Currently, in the stadium lay the scattered bodies of the other students, friends they once knew, now transformed into mindless zombies or dead. And the idea of killing more of their former classmates or people of the same school weighed heavily on her, but then a sudden calm washed over her. 

In this new world, survival meant adaptation. And the adaptation here meant getting used to killing these things. She then sighed and gripped the stick she had picked up earlier and said with a renewed resolve, "All right, Let's do this." 

And she looked at Jon who currently had a confused face on.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't find it."

"Find what?"

"In this zombie I killed, I didn't find that orb." He had bent and searched for any dim light around the zombie however he didn't find anything.

"You mean?" Jenny's eyes widened.

"Yes, I think we only get one." That was the only possible reason in this situation. And the thought made him feel strange. He didn't want to admit it but his skill wasn't the best.

"Hey, Hey, they're approaching." Jenny snapped Jon out of his thoughts and activated her silver flames.

Ten zombies were approaching their direction, and they couldn't run away because behind them were the survivor students on the raised platforms.

"That..." As Jon was about to panic about the number, the familiar wave of calmness washed over him and he came back to his senses.

"We can't let them get closer" Jenny said looking at the zombies approaching even closer.

"Right..." Then Jon released the fog to latch on the zombies. The fog successfully latched unto the zombies, however he couldn't control all of their movements together.

Bang...Bang...Bang

Without waiting for Jon to begin, Jenny already started throwing her fifteen centimeter flames to the zombies. 

With three throws from Jenny, the first zombie fell. But that didn't stop the other zombies from advancing.

Then suddenly, the movements of three zombies stopped.

"Jenny, now." It was clear Jon was the one who did it.

Bang...Bang...Bang

Maybe this time because Jon had stopped their movements, but one fell with a throw.

"Huu…"

"Haa..."

They had just killed four, six were left and their mana were already half spent.

"I'll take three, you take three" Jon said lifting his pump.

"Alright"

And they moved forward. Jon moved towards the left.

Without waiting, he spent all his remaining mana stopping the three zombies arm movements and swung his pump.

Whack...Whack...Whack

After carefully and continuously hitting the zombies, they fell.

"Haa...Haa...Haa"

And as the last of the zombies collapsed, Jon heard a soft chime in his mind, followed by several notifications:

[YOU HAVE OBTAINED LEVEL 3 ZOMBIE REMAINS]

[YOU HAVE OBTAINED LEVEL 2 ZOMBIE REMAINS]

[YOU HAVE OBTAINED LEVEL 3 ZOMBIE REMAINS]

[YOUR LEVEL HAS INCREASED]

He barely had time to process it. All he knew was that, the oppressive weight that had been pressing down on him since this nightmare began had lifted, albeit a bit.

Jenny stormed the three zombies with silver flames and when her mana ran out, she whacked the last zombie to death.

Exhausted, the two of them inhaled and exhaled heavily to catch their breaths after obviously making sure no zombie was close by.

Jon wiped sweat from his brow and looked around , just to notice four shimmering objects near the bodies of the fallen zombies.

"Are those?" Jon muttered in shock.

"Yes!" Then Jenny replied in excitement, already bending down to pick them up.

"Haa..." A huge relief swept through Jon's chest as he saw those orbs. Even after his passive skill calmed him, a part of him still didn't like the fact he was going to be stuck with just a skill. However now, it was like there was hope.

"So it doesn't appear every time." Jenny nodded her head while holding the four orbs. They had killed ten but only four appeared, that was the only possible reason for it.

Then they split the orbs into two and went back to the raised platform and sat down, ignoring the stares from the other students who had been watching them from the raised platform.

They surviving students were now huddled up together quite a distance away from Jon and maybe it was because of the corpse of the zombie Jon recently killed or because Jon and Jenny had the confidence to face them.

Well, the second one was also among the reason. To them, Jon and Jenny might as well looked like the monsters themselves, but they in particular didn't care. They had done what they had to do to survive.

And nothing will stop them from trying to survive.

"Now let's see," Jon muttered, taking a deep breath. He concentrated on the orb in his hand, and with a crack, the glowing object shattered, revealing an old, yellowed scroll.

His heart raced as he unrolled it. 'Could it be another skill?'

[YOU HAVE LEARNED 'SKILL': INSTANT CALCULATION (FIRST REALM) LEVEL 1: INCREASE CALCULATION SPEED BY 5%]

Jon blinked in surprise. "Instant calculation?"

He said the words aloud, half-expecting them to make more sense but they didn't. But after reading the description, he smiled. 'This skill could be invaluable especially in this new world where split-second decisions meant life or death, a faster mind could save my life.'

"All right, next one." He reached for the other orb, this time hoping for something like Jenny's own.

The orb cracked, but instead of a scroll, a brown spear appeared before him.

[YOU HAVE OBTAINED 'ITEM': OBSINE BROWN METAL SPEAR (UNRANKED REALM) LEVEL 3]

Jon hefted the spear, testing its weight. It felt sturdy, much better than the makeshift weapon he had been using. 

"So, weapons come out too," he muttered in a surprise. He then glanced at the pump he was holding. He hadn't put much thought to it, but it was already bent. 'You held up well.' After the little burial ceremony he just held for the pump, he looked beside him.

Jenny was holding a sword, which made him realize immediately. 'She had probably also gotten a skill and a weapon.' 

Now looking around the stadium, the remaining zombies were far, and it was getting darker, "We should leave this stadium," Jon said, his tone more serious now. "We need to get somewhere safe before it gets dark." And he pointed to the sky.

The change in atmosphere was immediate. Everyone's expressions shifted from relief to dread as they remembered the danger still lurking around them. What if these creatures are also outside? It was a heavy thought they couldn't help but think.

"W-What are these things?"

"Yeah, how are they coming?"

"Why are they here?"

After the first person asked her question, then the rest poured out their questions. And maybe because he was the first to adapt, but they felt like he had answers.

"Sigh...these things are zombies."

"Z-Zombies?"

"L-Like movies?"

"H-How..."

The survivors were also aware of what zombies were and the rule of not letting them scratch a person.

"Yes, zombies, and I don't know anything after that."

"S-So you are saying the security will also be in this situation."

"It is likely." Jenny replied.

Palflic University had always been known for its safety measures. The school was affiliated with several security agencies, so theoretically, the campus should be secure. But after what they had just experienced, wouldn't they also be in this situation?

"Let's not take any chances," Jon finally said. "We can head to the female dormitories for now. It's the closest building from here, and maybe we can meet some security personnel there." Pointing his finger to the general direction of the female hostel.

The remaining students nodded in agreement, too shaken to argue. And since Jon had mentioned security service, they found little hope.

With that settled, they all descended from the platform, some of them still nauseous from the sight of the corpses around the field. At this point, all the students that fainted had woken up.

The stadium quite a mess, littered with bodies and the remains of their former classmates. The stench of blood and gore was starting to overwhelm them, and a few students couldn't help but retch.

"Keep it together," Jon urged, his voice low. "We need to move quickly." At the far end of the field, more zombies were now moving toward them. However, they were still far away to be a non-issue, but Jon didn't want to risk sticking around, so he made them move faster.

They hurried toward the west gate, the one closest to the female dorms.

The stadium had three main entrances or exits: the east gate that led toward the cafeteria, the north gate that led deeper into the sports complex, and the west gate, which was the fastest route to the dormitories.

Jon led the way from the front, while Jenny followed and watched from the back.

Thankfully, the group cooperated and moved in silence, with only the occasional murmur or shuffling of feet.

Everyone was too terrified to make much noise, afraid of drawing too much of the attention of the undead which was already approaching from the distance.

Finally, they had reached the west gate, and Jon felt a flicker of hope.

They had made it. Now, all they had to do was get to the dorms, hole up for the night, and figure out their next move in the morning.

'Then, I can figure out what the hell is happening.'

Then he swung the gate open, expecting to see the hostels. However, that hope was immediately shattered.

The sight outside made Jon's stomach drop.

More zombies. Dozens of them. Their lifeless eyes locked onto his group immediately they stepped out and began to make their way towards them.

The group froze on their spot, finding it difficult to believe what lay at their front.